April 24 marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Brandon Charles Jefts, a 16 year-old Summerville resident.

Jefts received his driver’s license one day prior to the car accident that claimed his life. When he got his license, he decided to be an organ donor and had expressed his wishes by marking his license accordingly.

Teresa Money, Jeft’s mother, said, “Brandon was a very special boy. He was one of the most generous and giving people I have ever known. In my mind, the decision to honor Brandon’s wishes was simply a way to carry on his generosity.”

Jefts is the grandson of Virginia McCurdy and the late N.G. McCurdy of LaFayette.

Jefts’ heart, liver, and kidneys were harvested at Floyd Hospital in Rome and delivered to four people who were waiting on organs to become available. LifeLink of Georgia, a non-profit procurement agency in Atlanta, handled the distribution of Brandon’s organs.

Money said of her decision to go through with her son’s decision, “I knew he was just the kind of person who would have done it.”

Terri Medina, senior public relations coordinator for LifeLink, said of Brandon’s donation, “This was one of the first donations from the area, not the first, but it was a big event. It was bigger than most because normally in the past, when there were donations, a lot of people didn’t know about it.”

Medina said four people from across the country received the organs.

“There was a heart recipient in Georgia and a liver recipient in Minnesota. One kidney went to a recipient in North Carolina and one to a recipient in Maryland,” Medina said.

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Lives touched by Brandon Charles Jeft’s organ donations


* A 47-year-old man received Jeft’s heart at St. Joseph Hospital in Atlanta. LifeLink reported that the recipient died in September 1985. Jefts’ donation gave him seven more years of life.
* A 47-year-old woman received Jeft’s liver at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. LifeLink reported that the recipient died in May 1988 from complications not related to the liver.
* Two patients, one form North Carolina and the other from Maryland, received Jefts' kidneys. LifeLink reported that the person who received Jefts’ left kidney died in June 2004. Jefts' donation extended this person’s life for 16 years. No information was available from LifeLink on the recipient of Jefts’ right kidney.

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She said these organs actually extended the lives of their recipients, as with one of the kidney recipients, by as much as 16 years.

Jefts’ accident occurred in 1988 while in Summerville.

“We have been in touch with the transplants’ families. None of them are alive today. But they didn’t die because of the organ transplants. There were other issues, not the organs themselves,” Medina said.

Medina spoke of the deeper meaning associated with organ donation.

“It is to save lives, but it is also to give a family more years with their loved one than they would have had,” Medina said. “I have one patient with LifeLink that is celebrating his 20th year as a heart recipient. But when families get that extra time they can spend with their loved one, that is what the donation process is all about.”

Donating helps in dealing with loss of a loved one

Money said of her decision to approve her son’s wish of donation, “It was a very, very, very important decision because I knew I couldn’t change it. But if I had decided not to, I don’t think I could have made it.”

Medina said that currently there are more than 98,000 people in the United States who are waiting for organ transplants.

“That’s a lot of people who are in need,” Medina said. “Many of them are suffering from diseases, especially from kidney diseases. About two-thirds of those on the list are waiting for kidneys. In the state of Georgia, we have over 2,200 patients currently waiting for organ transplants today. Without the generosity of families and individuals who make commitments, these individuals wouldn’t make it off the waiting list.”

Money said that knowing her son was giving people a second chance at life through his donation helped her deal with his loss.

“I knew that Brandon would never become a father. But I believe this decision was sort of my way of giving him another type of life. It allowed some part of him to live on and experience some of the things he missed,” Money said.

Medina commented on the potential of possible lives that can be saved through donation.

“The great thing about being a donor is that one person can potentially save up to eight individual lives. When we look at organ and tissue donation, one individual can potentially touch up to 60 individual lives,” Medina said.

How do I donate? Medina spoke of the process that individuals wishing to become donors should follow.

“They need to indicate their wishes on their driver’s license, but they also need to talk to their families about their decision,” Medina said. “I think it really helps the family understand the wishes of their loved one.

“A lot of times people make the decision and never tell their families. The first time the family hears of it is when their loved one is pronounced dead. Really, that’s not the best time to be confronted with the decision. Today, more and more individuals are having the conversations with their families and the families are more open to honoring their loved one’s request.”

Money said she would urge more people to consider becoming organ donors.

“Definitely it was the right decision,” Money said. “I would encourage everyone to consider organ donation. You never know when one of your loved ones would be in the need of a transplant.”

Medina said that more and more people share Money’s sentiment.

“It is a great thing,” Medina said. “More and more people than ever before are saying yes to becoming donors and giving this second chance of life to so many.”

April is observed as Organ Donation Awareness Month in Georgia.

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